Marry Me, Molly
by Little Tanuki
Summary: For the big kid in all of us. Something a little more light-hearted this time. Jackie Peterson wants to marry Molly O'Brien
1. Part 1 to 3

**1. Jackie****'****s Vow**

Most girls were yuck.

They wore pink dresses, and drew brightly coloured pictures of ponies and flowers and other icky things.

They tied ribbons into the hair of their dolls, and held pretend tea parties with dainty floral cups and saucers.

But on the day of his sixth birthday, Jackie made himself a vow.

Within the week - if he could - and most definitely within the month, he was going to marry Molly O'Brien.

* * *

**2. The Thing About Hair**

Most girls were yuck, but Molly wasn't.

She had wide brown eyes, and her hair made Jackie think about silk.

He'd never seen silk before. He'd certainly never touched it. But he was sure that if he ever should, it would be just like Molly O'Brien's hair.

He guessed that it was soft, like the fur of the neighbours' cat, but not painful, like its claws. And on that very afternoon, Jackie decided that he was going to find out.

He stood and watched the door until the chime sounded and his mother went to answer.

Molly raced inside. "Hi, Jackie," she said.

Jackie scowled, until his mother cuffed him around the ears. "Well?"

"Hi," he grumbled. He didn't really know what else to say.

They sat at the table with milk and cookies. Jackie's cookie had chocolate in it. Molly had milk stuck above her lip.

Molly's hair was long and dark, and gleamed in the light of the room. She was sitting beside him. This was it. Jackie Peterson was going to find out about Molly's hair.

He reached out, and grabbed it in his hand. With her milk half empty on the table, Molly's eyes were full of tears. She started to wail, and jumped down and ran to Jackie's mother.

With the shock of Mrs Peterson's hand on his backside, Jackie was soon crying as well.

Molly's hair had been soft, but not like silk. And not like the fur of the neighbours' cat either.

* * *

**3. Jumja Sticks**

One old man on the Promenade, whose earring flashed and glinted, was a little grumpy, and scary. When he called out to Jackie, the boy didn't want to make his feet move closer. But then the old man smiled.

"See that lady over there?" he asked, pointing to the shop across the way. "She's really pretty, don't you think?"

Jackie just thought that she was really old.

"Tell you what," said the old man on the Promenade. "You find out her name for me, and I'll buy you a jumja stick."

So Jackie went over to the old woman across the way. She stared at him. Her earring flashed and glinted just as brightly. "Can I help you?"

Jackie pointed across the Promenade. "That man wants to know your name."

The old woman and the old man smiled at each other. "Well then," she said, laughing slightly. "You tell him my name is Folan Jari."

The old man looked happy when he heard the old woman's name, and smiled at her again. "Here," he said, and handed Jackie a jumja stick.

Jackie liked jumja sticks. He was so excited that he almost forgot to thank the old man.

As he walked away along the Promenade, he looked at his new jumja stick. He thought about eating it, about how it would taste. And then he thought about Molly O'Brien.

And he decided that he would give the jumja stick to Molly.

"Out of the way!" shouted a sudden voice. Everybody on the Promenade spun around to look. Someone ran towards him - an alien with a bag slung over one shoulder. And just behind him were two Security men. And just behind them was Constable Odo.

The stranger was running directly for him, and there was no time for either one to get out of the way. Jackie was knocked to one side, hands and legs colliding with the hard floor.

The alien ran past him, with Security close behind. On his way along the Promenade, Constable Odo trod on Molly's jumja stick.

* * *

_Want more? The review button's right there! Also, I have a few ideas for subsequent chapters, but if anyone has any I'd be happy to hear them. (PM me or something) L.T._


	2. Part 4 to 7

_Finally! A very big thank you to Bandalero & Swisstony & Kissmedarling for reviews!!_

**4. Expert Advice**

Jackie sat near the railing, tears in his eyes. He watched the people below him all pass by.

There were some children laughing about a secret that only they would ever know. There was that red faced man who would always shout at Jackie not to loiter near the cargo bays. And there was the man who ran the tailor shop. Jackie thought that he was scary.

Two older boys appeared at Jackie's side. He knew them both. It was Nog and Jake.

This spot on the Promenade corner was Nog and Jake's spot. Everyone knew that. "Sorry," mumbled Jackie, and slid back just far enough that he could stand up and leave.

"Hey, Jackie. It's alright," said Jake. "You can stay here with us."

Nog glared at Jake from across the railing, and Jake glared right back. Jackie sniffed and hastily wiped his tears away.

"What's in your hand, Jackie?" asked Jake.

"It's a jumja stick," said Jackie. "I was going to give it to… a girl."

Nog and Jake exchanged a knowing glance.

"Aren't you going to give it to her any more?" asked Jake.

Jackie Peterson shook his head.

"Why not?" asked Nog.

"I can't," sniffed Jackie. "It's got carpet fluff all over it."

He told them about the old man on the Promenade, and about the alien with the bag, and Constable Odo.

Nog and Jake exchanged another knowing glance.

"Well," said Nog. "You've come to just the right place, if it's girls you're having trouble with. Allow me to give you some expert advice."

Jackie watched, and listened. Expert advice was exactly what he needed.

"You see," Nog continued slowly. "It's all about going through the right channels. Have you spoken to her father yet?"

"No," said Jackie.

"Have you arranged a contract?"

"No," said Jackie.

"Have you even offered a bridal price?"

"No," said Jackie.

Nog grinned. "Well then. No wonder you're having trouble."

But at his other side, Jake had covered his eyes with one hand.

Jackie looked at the dusty jumja stick. He thought about Nog's expert advice. And then he was happy, and decided that would be the very next thing he had to do.

* * *

**5. A Little Bit of Latinum**

It was shiny, and golden, and abandoned in the very darkest corner of the habitat ring. It was solid in Jackie's hand as he picked it up and rubbed away the dust and lint. He looked around. Nobody had seen it but him.

Two whole strips of Latinum.

He would take it to Molly's dad. Just like Nog had said.

They were sitting in a corner of the Replimat. Mister O'Brien was eating potatoes and peas, and his friend the Doctor was eating plomeek soup. Jackie walked up to their table.

"Hullo, Jackie," said Molly's dad. "What can I do for you?"

Jackie showed him the two strips of Latinum.

"What's that for?" asked Mister O'Brien's friend the Doctor.

"It's a bridal price," said Jackie. "Nog says I should give it to you, because I want to marry Molly."

Mister O'Brien choked on his peas and potatoes.

* * *

**6. An Ideal Prescription**

After he had thumped Molly's dad several times upon the back, his friend the Doctor turned to Jackie Peterson.

"Why do you want to marry Molly, Jackie?"

"Because," said Jackie. "She's a girl, but she's not yuck like most girls are."

The Doctor laughed, and suddenly there was a scowl on Jackie's face. "It's not funny."

"No, of course it isn't," said Molly's dad's friend the Doctor. He looked at Mister O'Brien. And then he looked back at Jackie.

"Does Molly know you want to marry her?" he asked.

Molly's dad coughed slightly, glaring at his friend the Doctor. And Jackie shook his head.

"It seems to me, then," the Doctor continued. "If you like a girl, the first thing you should do is let her know. Isn't that right?"

But Mister O'Brien just continued to glare. It was making Jackie feel all squirmy on the inside. He didn't understand why two whole strips of Latinum could have made Molly's dad so angry.

* * *

**7. Jackie's Allergy**

Jackie's mother was allergic to the flowers on the Promenade. They made her sneeze, and then her nose would go all red and runny. His brother was allergic to the neighbour's cat. Jadzia Dax the lady with the spots was allergic to icoberries. Jackie had heard her telling it to Missus O'Brien.

Allergies were what made people sneeze, or itch, or feel all icky inside like that time when Jackie had swallowed one of his own crayons to see what it was like.

Jackie supposed if that was true, then he must be allergic to Molly.

* * *


	3. Part 8 to 10

**8. Replicated Siblings**

Jackie's brother Tom knew everything. Jackie was certain that Tom knew everything. Because Tom had told him so.

"Where do babies come from?" Jackie asked his brother Tom.

Tom looked sagely at Jackie. He often looked sagely at people. That was probably what boys who knew everything did. "Babies," Tom told him. "Come from people's bellies."

It made sense. One time a lady in the quarters opposite theirs had gotten a really fat belly. And then she'd had a baby. But that big man who was in Quark's Bar a lot also had a fat belly, and Jackie's dad said that was just from too much Saurian Brandy.

Men had babies sometimes, Tom had told him once. But not human men.

"But where do they come from before that?" asked Jackie.

"A very good question," Tom said, which was what he always said when he would most likely take a long time to answer. He paused for a while. Then he turned back to Jackie, and looked sagely all over again. "Before that…? They're just sort of floating around the air. Or something."

Then Tom's friend came over, and they both left. Tom and his friend never let Jackie play with them. But Jackie had followed them once and he knew that all they ever did was hang around the airlocks. Which was boring. So he didn't particularly care.

He looked around him, and thought about being surrounded by floating babies. Then he wondered about what would happen once the babies found a belly they could hide in.

Last night the Petersons had eaten spaghetti and meatballs. Jackie thought about the spaghetti and meatballs, and how it had felt inside his belly.

Last night's dinner had come out of the replicator. Perhaps that was where babies came from too.

"What are you doing, Jackie?" asked Molly when she came over to play that afternoon. She walked towards him, clutching a bit of paper and some crayons to her chest. Molly had a purple dress, and her hair was hanging down, all long and shiny.

"Watching the replicator."

"Why?"

So Jackie told Molly about what his brother Tom had said, and how if they watched the replicator hard enough, they might even see a baby come out. And that would be their very own baby, because they would have seen it first.

They watched the replicator together, waiting side by side. Until Jackie got bored and went to see if any Cardassian voles had eaten that bit of a sandwich he'd left in his bedroom cupboard on the night before. Maybe their baby would come out tomorrow instead.

* * *

**9. The Kiss**

One man and one woman would sometimes go to the shrine together on the Promenade. They would look at each other, smile, and then they would look away.

One day, Jackie saw them look at each other. Then they smiled. Then the man kissed the woman. The next day they were kissing and hugging each other all the time.

And then they were married by that white-bearded Vedek with the hairy pink nose.

Molly was coming over again that afternoon. They were going to have milk and cookies, sitting side by side on the counter. Then Jackie was going to kiss her, and they would get married.

Molly's hair was tied up in braids that looped around at the side of her head. She sat on the floor, gazing down at the picture as she drew.

"What are you drawing?" asked Jackie.

Molly didn't look up. "It's a pony."

"That pony's purple." Jackie moved in for a closer look. "Ponies can't be purple."

Jackie was drawing too, but his was of a spider, all black and creepy with bright red eyes. Molly looked at Jackie's spider, and Jackie looked at Molly's face.

And now his stomach felt all fluttery, because he was finally going to kiss Molly O'Brien.

He crawled towards Molly until he was close enough to kiss her. And then their heads collided. They made a funny noise. Molly's lips trembled, and she started to wail.

Five minutes later, Jackie was sitting on the sofa. His forehead hurt. There was a pain on his backside, and tears in his eyes. And his dad wouldn't stop talking about Why We Don't Bump Other People In Their Heads.

* * *

**10. Jackie's Phase**

Missus O'Brien was telling it to Jackie's mum, that Jackie was really just going through a Phase.

Jackie didn't think that he was going through a Phase. But then, how could he tell? He didn't know what a Phase would feel like. He didn't even really know what it was. But it did sound quite grand.

Maybe if he told it to Molly, that he was going through a Phase, then she would be impressed. And then she would have to marry him.

He overheard Molly's dad tell to Nog's dad about Phase Coil Inverters, and wondered if his own Phase could have something to do with that. He didn't know what Phase Coil Inverters were, but they sounded even grander.

Then he saw Molly's dad's friend the Doctor, talking to Jadzia Dax outside the Infirmary.

"Hello, Jackie," said the Doctor. Jackie stopped, and then he remembered that it was rude not to say hello - because one time when he had not said hello a big scary man had started to scold him.

He also wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, which meant that if he saw a stranger, he had to be rude and not say hello. But Molly's dad's friend was not a stranger.

"Hello," said Jackie.

"How are you, Jackie?" asked Jadzia Dax the lady with the spots.

"I'm going through a Phase," announced Jackie.

At least the Doctor remembered not to laugh this time. But the lady with the spots did laugh.

And Jackie decided that if going through a Phase was only going to make people laugh at him, then maybe he shouldn't tell it to Molly O'Brien after all.


	4. Part 11 to 12

_Thank you so much for everyone who has written reviews!! (MuseUrania, Frizz the Eccentric, and all of the aforementioned.) _:)

* * *

**11. Wishing on the Wormhole**

"If you see the wormhole open, you can make a wish," said Jadzia Dax the lady with the spots.

Jackie Peterson didn't know if this was true. But he really wanted to make a wish, because then he could wish to marry Molly.

The windows on the Promenade were too much higher than he was tall. But if Jackie stood on his very tiptoes, he could just about see out the bottom.

So Jackie stood on his very tiptoes, and pressed his nose up to the windowsill, and he looked out at the stars.

…And the wormhole didn't open.

Lots of people passed him by. Sometimes they stopped and looked, and sometimes they whispered to each other. Sometimes they laughed, which made Jackie feel all yucky. His legs ached a bit from being on tiptoes, and his nose ached a bit from being on the windowsill. But he did not want to stop watching.

If he stopped watching, he would miss the wormhole. And then he wouldn't get to marry Molly at all.

Two people came up to where he was. It was Jake's dad, and he had been talking to Constable Odo. They were talking about work stuff, which was the same as what Jackie's dad, or Molly's dad, or even Jackie's mum would sometimes talk about.

Jackie didn't understand about work stuff, except that it was boring. But as soon as they saw Jackie, Jake's dad and Constable Odo stopped talking to each other about their work.

"He's been like that for over ten minutes," said Constable Odo.

"Hello, Jackie," said Jake's dad. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting," Jackie told him.

"For what?"

"The wormhole."

"Well," said Jake's dad. "I'll tell you a secret, shall I? There's a ship leaving in fifteen minutes. So if you come back in fifteen minutes, you can see the wormhole open then."

Jackie Peterson was a little bit worried, because he wasn't sure if he could make a wish any more when someone had told him that the wormhole would open. But he was only worried by a little bit, and soon that went away.

He thought about what Missus Peterson had said about how we should always remember to thank people when they do something nice. "Thank you," he said to Jake's dad, and ran away along the Promenade.

Jackie's dad was coming out of the turbolift. He frowned when he saw Jackie.

"Didn't I tell you not to hang around the Promenade?" he said. "Come on, Jackie. You're coming home with me."

"Can't," said Jackie. If he went straight home, he would never see the wormhole open. And he would never get to make a wish to marry Molly. He had to be on the Promenade for ten more minutes at least.

But he didn't want his dad to get all growly. Jackie's dad was scary when he was growly. So Jackie told him about how he was waiting for the wormhole and he had to wait for another ten more minutes at least.

"How do you know the wormhole will open?" asked Mister Peterson.

And Jackie felt a little bit squirmy, because Jake's dad had said it was a secret. But he hadn't said it was a big secret, so Jackie only felt squirmy by a tiny bit. And he decided that it wouldn't be too bad to tell his dad.

"Jake's dad said so," he replied. "And he knows everything 'cuz of how he's the boss of all the station."

"Oh, well. If Jake's dad said so, it must be true." Mister Peterson was smiling then, and Jackie was glad that he wasn't going to get all growly. And Jackie's dad told Jackie about how if he was very good and promised to go home straight after, they could watch the wormhole together and then go to the Replimat for extra frothy milkshakes.

Jackie liked extra frothy milkshakes even more than he liked jumja sticks, but not as much as he liked Molly O'Brien. "Okay," he said.

Ten more minutes passed them by, and they went back to the window. It was still up higher than Jackie was tall. But Jackie's dad lifted him to his hip, and they watched the wormhole together.

And when the wormhole closed again, Mister Peterson took Jackie to the Replimat for an extra frothy strawberry milkshake. But as he drank his extra frothy milkshake, Jackie soon realised that he'd forgotten to make a wish.

* * *

**12. Peldor Joi**

It was the day of the Bajoran Gratitude Festival.

"What's Gratitude?" Jackie asked his brother Tom. His brother Tom looked up and scowled.

"Go away."

Then Jackie asked the big man standing just outside Quark's Bar. "What's Gratitude?"

The big man who always hung around Quark's Bar stared at Jackie. He was scary, so Jackie left.

Then he asked Major Kira. "What's Gratitude?"

"I'm kind of busy right now, Jackie," said Major Kira.

She started to leave. But Jackie was still watching her. And she stopped. And sighed. And turned around.

"Gratitude," she told him, "Is when you say 'Thank You'."

Jackie was happy, because now he understood what Gratitude was. Lots of people said "Thank You". Like when they would tell each other, "Thank You for a lovely evening." Or "Thank You for taking that message for me."

Or, "Thank You for not telling Constable Odo that I was the one who hid his bucket behind my Uncle Quark's bar."

Jackie's dad told Tom and Jackie that they both should make renewal scrolls. The old man on the Promenade - who bought Jackie a jumja stick one time - said renewal scrolls were for things you wanted to go away.

"Like Brussels sprouts?" asked Jackie. He thought about Brussels sprouts, about how they tasted so yuck, and felt all crinkly, and made him squirm inside his belly. He often wished that Brussels sprouts would go away.

"Not quite like Brussels sprouts," said the old man on the Promenade. "It's more for when something troubles you."

Jackie thought very hard, and wondered if anything was troubling him.

He didn't know how to spell what troubled him. So he drew a picture on his renewal scroll, with two people in it. Above one of those people he wrote, _Jackie_. And above the other one of those people he wrote, _MoLy_.

And then he drew a Brussels sprout in a corner at the bottom, just in case.

There were lots of people at Quark's Bar for the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. Mister O'Brien was sitting at a table with Missus O'Brien, and Constable Odo was dancing with a lady.

There were also dancers, and people selling things, and people twirling fire. Jackie walked past them all with his renewal scroll in one tight hand.

But then Jackie thought about what the old man had told him, about how renewal scrolls were to make his troubles go away. And he thought about Molly. He knew that she was troubling him, and making him all squirmy on the inside, but he didn't want her to go away.

And suddenly he decided that he couldn't put his renewal scroll into the fire. Even if that meant he had to eat nothing but Brussels sprouts for ever and always. He couldn't make Molly go away.

He slipped the crumpled scroll into his pocket, and left the fire behind.

* * *

_This is the point at which the Tanuki makes an apology and/or a confession. It may be quite a while before I can update this again, because I need some time to think of more ideas. But I don't reckon Jackie's the kind of kid to stay away for too, too long!_


	5. Part 13 to 15

_Yay! Finally!_

* * *

**13. Baseball**

Jackie's parents were away eating squirmy things at the Klingon restaurant on the Promenade. So Tom and Jackie were going to stay with Molly's dad for a bit.

Jackie was excited, because he would get to see Molly. And also because Molly's dad and Jake's dad were going to take them all to watch a game of Baseball.

Jake's dad had told it to Molly's dad, how he was going to go and see a game of Baseball. He said Molly's dad could come with him if he wanted. And then Molly's dad had said about how he was already looking after Tom and Jackie and Molly. He would come if he could bring Tom and Jackie and Molly along as well.

So Jake's dad replicated some Baseball caps for Tom and Jackie and Molly. Jackie's cap was a little bit tight, and it squished his hair down over his eyes. But Jake's dad had said about how they had to wear Baseball caps at a Baseball game.

Jackie didn't know why they had to wear Baseball caps at a Baseball game, but his mother always said that he should do what the grown-ups told him to. Jake's dad was a grown-up - and the boss of all the station besides. So Jackie Peterson wore his Baseball cap and allowed his hair to be squished down over his eyes.

Just before they were watching the Baseball, Quark had made them all hotdogs. Jackie's hotdog had extra ketchup on it, which stuck to his chin and to his nose. And Jake's dad told all about Baseball to Tom and Jackie and Molly. So Jackie was happy. Now he knew all about Baseball.

In Baseball, there was a man who threw a ball, and another man who hit the ball and ran around in a circle. Jake's dad said about how it was really good if he could make it all the way around to the beginning again. Jackie didn't know why it was really good. They were always just back at the beginning again. But he was happy when somebody got all the way around, because of how Jake's dad had told them so.

Jake's dad said that if someone hit the Baseball really high, that was even better than if they got all the way around. And if Tom or Jackie or Molly could catch the ball, then it would make them lucky.

Mister Peterson had told Jackie one time that if he wanted to catch a ball, he would have to watch it really closely. So when one of the men with the stripey socks hit it up really high, Jackie stayed where he was and watched it go up. Then he leaned backwards a bit to watch it come down.

The Baseball came down, getting closer and closer. And then the Baseball fell on Jackie's head.

* * *

**14. Flashy Lights To Make It All Better**

Jackie started to wail as Molly's dad picked him up and ran all the way along the Promenade. He wrapped his arms around Mister O'Brien's neck and did not let go until they stopped.

"What happened?" asked Mister O'Brien's friend the Doctor. So Mister O'Brien told to him all about how Jackie had gotten bumped in his head with a Baseball.

Jackie Peterson was sitting on a long blue bed. He wasn't wailing any more, but there were still tears in his eyes, and a pain in his head from where he'd been bumped in it with a Baseball. But he stared at his feet, as the Doctor fixed him all up with one of his bright flashy lasers.

"All better now?" asked the Doctor.

Jackie shook his head. But he didn't want to say anything when Molly's dad was watching, because if he did then Molly's dad might start to glare all over again. Just like he had the last time. So he squirmed a bit as he looked up at Molly's dad.

But then he sniffed, and told in a really mumbly voice about how Molly had seen him get bumped on his head with a Baseball. And then she had seen him cry.

"I don't think she only saw you cry, Jackie." the Doctor told him with a smile. "I think she saw you being very brave as well."

But Jackie still wished that the Doctor's flashy lasers could fix up all his tears.

* * *

**15. How to Keep a Secret**

Constable Odo watched Major Kira as she walked along the Promenade. And Jackie Peterson was watching Constable Odo. "What's he doing?" Jackie asked Jadzia Dax the lady with the spots.

"It's a secret," she told him.

Some secrets were only tiny secrets, like when Jackie put half his cabbage on his brother Tom's plate when his brother Tom was not looking. But some secrets were big secrets, like when Jackie's brother Tom was throwing bits of cereal at the neighbours' cat and he didn't know that Jackie had seen him. Or how there was that one lady in Security who always told people that she was thirty when she was really forty five.

Jackie was excited, because he had a special secret too. With every day that passed, he wanted more and more to tell his secret. But if he told somebody then they would tell somebody else. And then everyone would know. Secrets weren't secrets any more if everyone knew about what they were.

So that night after bedtime, when the Petersons thought that Jackie was asleep, he sat in the dark and told his special secret to his teddy bear. And then he was happy. He knew without a doubt that his teddy would never tell it to anybody else.


	6. Part 16 to 18

_Sorry this took a while._

* * *

**16. Molly's Present**

Before Jackie's mum had married his dad, and for a long time after, they got each other special presents all the time. Like that shiny black dress that Missus Peterson couldn't wear any more because her hips were too big, or some special chocolates from Alpha Centauri, or an old fashioned chronometer that his mum had bought, for that time when Mister Peterson showed up half an hour late for taking Missus Peterson out to dinner.

Molly and Missus O'Brien were going to Bajor again, and Jackie decided he would make her a special going away present.

He got a bit of cardboard from out of his bedroom drawer, and all the crayons he could find. Then he got some glue and feathers, and even a bit of fluff off the carpet because it was kind of blue and Molly liked blue.

Then he got some tin foil from the kitchen, just because tin foil was extra shiny. And he sat down to make the really special present for Molly.

He smeared the cardboard all over with glue, until it was so gunky that there was barely any cardboard left to see. Then he put the tin foil and feathers and carpet fluff in the glue, and drew all over the inside with blue and green crayons, and red crayons, and finally with yellow.

One time when Jackie and Molly were playing together on the floor of the O'Briens' quarters, Mister O'Brien had come inside with a whole bunch of special flowers for Molly's mum. They were really bright colours of yellow, and red, and orange, and white. And Missus O'Brien was so happy when she saw them. Jackie wished that he could get some flowers off the Promenade, but then he remembered about Constable Odo, and what had happened to the jumja stick that he wanted to give to Molly.

He didn't want the same thing to happen again. But still, he wanted to make Molly smile like Missus O'Brien had smiled that time. So he made lots of really bright shapes with his red and blue and green and yellow crayons.

Just specially for Molly O'Brien, Jackie would even draw pictures of icky things like flowers.

* * *

**17. Extra Sticky Chocolate Cake**

Molly's present was the most ickiest, gooiest and special present ever. But Jackie still wanted something extra to go with it.

Molly liked ponies, but ponies were too big to fit in the replicator, so he couldn't get her one of those. Molly liked cats, but the neighbours' cat always tried to scratch Jackie every time that he was near - even though Jackie only ever wanted to see what its tail felt like. And Molly liked sweets, and jumja sticks.

Jackie thought about buying Molly another jumja stick, with the two whole strips of Latinum he had found in the corner of the habitat ring. But then he thought about something even better.

And he decided that he was going to make Molly O'Brien an extra super sticky chocolate cake.

He thought about getting his mum or his dad - or even his brother Tom - to help him with the extra sticky chocolate cake. But his mum was having her afternoon nap. Jackie was supposed to be having an afternoon nap too, except that he wasn't sleepy. And his dad was off to work, and his brother Tom was hanging around the airlocks again, which Jackie wasn't supposed to know but did anyway.

When he finished there was cake all over his fingers, and cake all over his face where he'd reached up to scratch his itchy nose. There was chocolate in his cake, and flour and water because that's what Missus O'Brien said had to go in cake. And there was lots of sugar, and syrup, and honey to make it sticky.

And the cake was all lumpy but it was so very sticky and sweet, because when Jackie reached up to scratch his nose he had also got a bit in his mouth and that had tasted really sweet and gooey. Now he decided it was ready, and it was time to give the cake to Molly.

With the present in one hand and Molly's special cake in the other, Jackie opened the door to the Peterson's quarters and started walking towards the part of the habitat ring where Molly lived with her mum and dad. But then he thought about how Molly and her mum were going to Bajor that very afternoon, and started to feel his insides squirm. Because what if he missed them going, and then he would never be able to give Molly her special cake and present at all?

So Jackie went faster along the corridor. Now that he was going faster, he might even arrive in time to give Molly her special present and cake. The corridor was long and curvy and dark. But suddenly there was a flash of colour right in front of him. Jackie gasped, and tried to slow, but then he ran right into Nog's uncle Quark.

And when he finally picked himself up again, there was Molly's special sticky chocolate cake all over Quark's best good green and yellow suit.

* * *

**18. Acquisition**

Jackie and Missus Peterson and Quark were all in Jake's dad's office. It was big in Jake's dad's office. And dark and scary. And Jackie wanted to run away.

Quark told Jake's dad about how Molly's cake was all over his best good green and yellow suit. "I tell you," he said in a really growly voice. "I'm going to sue him for all he has."

Jake's dad looked at Quark. "You're going to sue a six year old?" he said.

"It's perfectly acceptable practice on Ferenginar," said Quark.

Jackie squirmed. He didn't know what Perfectly Acceptable Practice was, but it sounded so horrible and scary. He thought about what would happen if he had to give Quark all he had. All that he had in his pocket at that moment was a bit of leftover carpet fluff, and some crumbs from a cookie he'd been saving for later that afternoon, and an old button that he had found near one of the panels to the Jeffries' tubes.

But then he thought about all the other stuff he had at home. What if he had to give Quark his crayons, or his teddy bear, or that dried up bit of a sandwich in his cupboard that the Cardassian voles still hadn't found? What if he had to give Quark his bridal price for Molly?

Feeling the tears come into his eyes, Jackie stared at the Baseball that was sitting on top of Jake's dad's desk. Whatever Perfectly Acceptable Practice turned out to be, he doubted he was going to like it.

* * *

_Please Review. Reviews are good_. 8) L.T.


	7. Part 19 to 20

**19. Jackie****'****s Terribly Scary Dream**

Missus Peterson was growly at Jackie all the way from the office to their quarters in the Habitat Ring.

"I don't want you leaving our quarters again unless I say you can," she told Jackie, who squirmed a bit, and scowled at where some of the thread had come a bit loose from his comfy red jumpsuit.

Jackie didn't know much about what Arrangement his mum and Jake's dad had worked out with Quark, except that it had something to do with making Quark's best good green and yellow suit all clean again, so that there wasn't sticky chocolate cake all over it any more. And in return, Quark wouldn't sue Jackie for everything he had after all.

Mister Peterson came home that night from his work. "I heard you had a bit of trouble today," he said to Jackie's mum. And Jackie wished he hadn't said anything, because then his mum was scowly at him all over again.

Even before Mister Peterson came home, Jackie had already gotten sleepy. He only ate a tiny bit of his replicated meatloaf that night, and went to bed early and then to sleep. And when he was asleep, Jackie Peterson had a strange and kind of scary dream.

Jackie was at the table in his dream, and so was Molly. And so was Jackie's teddy, and Molly's doll, and the neighbours' cat. When he sat at the table, Jackie moved a lot of padds around the place, just like he sometimes saw his dad do at breakfast time, and thought about how Molly's hair was all long and shiny in the light of their very own new quarters.

Then Jackie got up from the table, just like his dad always did before he was about to go to work. "Goodbye," he said to his teddy, and to Molly's doll, and also to the neighbours' cat.

But before he could go away from their quarters, the replicator started to buzz and hum. "Is that breakfast?" asked Molly.

Jackie got up to check, and walked over to the replicator, which buzzed and hummed even louder. "No," he told Molly. "It's a baby."

Molly came over and watched the replicator with him, and lifted their baby out, turning it around to show its face to Jackie. Their baby from the replicator was chewing on a bit of Latinum, and Jackie saw their baby grinning at him with really sharp yellow teeth. And he also saw that their baby was Nog's uncle Quark.

* * *

**20. A Proposal**

"People have to go out with each other before they can get married," Jake told him one day, and shrugged. "It's just the way things are done."

Jackie thought so hard that his head started to hurt a bit. "Why?" he asked.

And Jake gave Jackie a knowing glance, a little bit like what he'd seen his brother Tom do sometimes. Jackie supposed that if Jake's dad was boss of all the station, then Jake must know everything too. Just like Tom. He was glad that there were so many boys around who knew everything there was to know.

"It just is," Jake told Jackie. "And the first thing you have to do if you want to get a girl to go out with you, is ask her."

Then Jake asked Jackie if he wanted to go and throw a Baseball around while they waited for his dad. But then Jackie rubbed the place on his head where he'd got hit by a Baseball that time.

"No," he said.

He walked away along the Promenade, and wondered about how he would get Molly to go out with him. Mister Peterson said that he had got Missus Peterson to go out with him one day when she was young and pretty like Molly, and then he made a Proposal. And Mister Peterson said about how he had gone down onto his knees and asked Missus Peterson to marry him, because that was the way things had to be done.

It seemed to Jackie that a lot of the stuff people did was just the way things had to be done.

"Wasn't the floor all cold?" asked Jackie.

"Not really," said his dad. "Because we were outside. In the park."

There weren't any parks on all the station. There was always a holosuite, but his mum and his dad always said that he wasn't to go anywhere near Quark's Bar unless he was with a grown-up. And if he was going to ask Molly to marry him, then they would need to be there all alone. That was definitely the way that things had to be done. "Didn't the grass scratch you on your knees?" he asked his dad, after a bit.

"Well… Maybe," said Jackie's dad. "Perhaps. A little. But I didn't mind, because I love your mum so much, and I was really happy when she said yes."

Jackie thought about how happy _he_ would be when Molly said yes. He was so excited about his Proposal, so much that he felt all fluttery on his inside. And he decided for sure. On the very next day after this one had ended, he was going to Propose to Molly O'Brien.


	8. Part 21 to 23

**21. Popping the Question**

Jackie was going to Molly's place to play on the next morning, and also to make her a Proposal so that she would marry him.

"Hi, Jackie," said Missus O'Brien when she greeted him at the door. Molly's quarters were just along from Jackie's quarters, so he and Missus Peterson didn't have very far to go. Jackie remembered to say hello this time, so his mum didn't have to cuff him about the ears at all. But he was so very nervous about his Proposal to Molly that his voice got all mumbly, and he couldn't say hello properly, and he stared down at where his shoes were scraping against the floor of the Habitat Ring.

"Good bye, Jackie," said Jackie's mum. "Be good for Missus O'Brien, won't you."

Jackie nodded and kept on staring at his feet.

Molly was in the corner playing with her stuffed toy animals. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a dusty purple dress that came down to her knees, and dark purple stockings that came down the rest of the way. Jackie went over to her, feeling even more fluttery and squirmy in his guts with every step he took.

"Hi," said Molly.

"Hi," squeaked Jackie. He stood where he was for a long, long time. Molly O'Brien watched him just stand where he was. Her eyes were really big when she was staring at him.

Jackie's dad had told Jackie that when boys asked girls to marry them, then they had to kneel down on their knees. Because that was the way that Things were done. Jackie was a little bit scared when he got down first on one knee and then on the other knee, and finally knelt with his backside resting against the bottoms of his feet. Molly kept on looking at him, and frowned a little bit like Missus Peterson sometimes did when she wanted to ask a question.

The O'Brien's quarters were really really quiet. So quiet that Jackie could hear every time he took a breath. If he was going to ask Molly to marry him, then he would have to do it now - while their quarters were still quiet enough for his voice to be heard. The hard floor was starting to hurt his knees.

"Um…" said Jackie.

And just then he heard a voice behind him. "Jackie," said Missus O'Brien. "What are you doing down there?"

Jumping to his feet so suddenly that he didn't even care when his legs tingled all over with pins-and-needles, Jackie ran away from the O'Brien's quarters and from Molly O'Brien's staring dark eyes.

* * *

**22. Hide and Seek**

The cargo bays were even bigger than Molly's quarters, and really, really quiet except for when there were people in them. On that morning, there were lots of dark grey boxes in the cargo bay , all stacked in big towers on top of one another. Jackie was kind of sad because of how he hadn't gotten to make his Proposal to Molly, but at least there was no-one around to see him go into the cargo bay.

And the big black boxes in the cargo bay were certainly big enough for him to slip between and hide.

After a long time hiding between the big black boxes, Jackie Peterson heard a voice. "Hello," said the voice.

He looked up, and saw that it was the man who ran the tailor shop. Jackie Peterson didn't know why the man who ran the tailor shop was in the cargo bay, but he'd heard lots of people say about how he always went to places where tailor shop men weren't really supposed to go. Boys didn't usually go into cargo bays either, so Jackie supposed that maybe the man was running away from a girl as well, just like he was.

"What are you doing down there?"

The man who ran the tailor shop was not really a stranger. But he was still scary, so Jackie said nothing. And the man stepped forward with a smile.

"Not a very talkative young man, are you?" he said after watching Jackie for just a little while.

Jackie stared, still feeling icky and squirmy all at the same time.

Then suddenly he felt even more icky and squirmy than before. Someone else had appeared from just behind the man who ran the tailor shop. This man was not a stranger, either. And he was the grumpiest person on all the station and even more scary than the tailor shop man. It was Constable Odo.

"What are you doing here, Garak?" asked Constable Odo.

The tailor shop man smiled again. "It would appear that I am making a new friend, Constable."

Jackie wondered about who this new friend could be. He couldn't see anyone else around the cargo bay, but he didn't say anything to either of them.

Constable Odo humphed, but then he looked at Jackie.

"Come on, Jackie Peterson," he said. "You're coming with me."

* * *

**23. Jackie and the Constable**

Constable Odo led Jackie Peterson back onto the Promenade, where he had his very own Security office.

"Are you going to lock me up?" asked Jackie.

"No, Jackie. I am not going to lock you up," said Constable Odo. "But it's dangerous to be around the cargo bays. You shouldn't go there again. Can you promise me that you won't?"

Jackie thought about if he made a promise, and how that would mean that he would have to keep it forever and ever. What if he _had _to hide in the cargo bay again? "No," he said.

"Then how about telling me why you were in there?" said Constable Odo.

"I couldn't ask Molly O'Brien to marry me," said Jackie.

Constable Odo paused, and shook his head. "I'm not sure I see the connection," he despaired. But Jackie Peterson just stared at his shoes.

"Fine, Jackie," he said. "You don't have to tell me why you were there. Just don't hide in the cargo bays again--" He leaned forwards by just a little bit. "--Or I _might _just have to lock you up after all."

Jackie squirmed in the chair, and then he looked up. But when Constable Odo finally did turn away with a shake of his head, he wondered if he hadn't possibly seen the Constable smile.


	9. Thanks

**Acknowledgements**

* * *

**Computer. Begin Personal Log.**

_This is all real __'__citing, huh? Like when you send a really special letter and__…__ Hey -- what__'__s this button do?_

**beep**

* * *

**Computer. Resume Personal Log**

_My name is Jack Raymond Clarence Peterson, and this is my very own Personal Log. I heard somewhere like Tanuki says that lots of people who are reading this Log are from so many years ago that it__'__s before I was even born, or my dad was even born, or even my dad__'__s dad__'__s dad was even born__…_

_One time I think that Mister O__'__Brien he tried to tell me about how that happened - like people could read your Personal Log before you even were born. And he called it Temp-ol__…__ something. And my brother Tom he says it__'__s all like time travel. I__'__ve never been on time travel, but I guess it__'__s really exciting even more than when we all went to Earth that one time to see my grand-dad turn really old on his birthday._

_So Tanuki says that if I do this Log for everyone a long time ago, then I can have a cookie with chocolate fudge in it. So I__'__ll do this Log __'__cuz of I like chocolate and cookies and also __'__cuz of how I__'__ve never done a Log before like sometimes the grown-ups do._

_And I gotta make this Log and say thank you to lots of people who made Reviews when they read about me and Molly O__'__Brien. Nobody told me about what a Review is but when I asked my brother Tom he just told me to shut up and leave him alone and then I said about how if he didn__'__t tell me then I would tell on him about how he was hanging round the docking ring again when Mum and Dad both told him not to. So he says it__'__s kind of like a Log only lots smaller._

_And now I say thank you to Bandelero-Casanova, and kissmedarling, and swisstony, and__…__ Hey -- these names are funny!! I know -- you already told me I have to sit real still in my chair and I__'__m not gonna touch the buttons again. Okay? And thank you lots and lots to MuseUrania too, and Frizz the Eccentric, and elektrum. Everybody thank you heaps for making the Reviews._

_There. I made a Log and didn't touch any more of the buttons at all. Can I have my cookie now?_

**Computer. End Personal Log**

* * *

**End-note:**

Apologies, but I think I need a break from this, so I'm going to clock it as "complete" just for the moment. Hopefully I should be able to get back to it at some stage. But once again, thanks to all my readers, and especially those who wrote reviews - you're absolutely fantastic.

That's about it, I think. All that's left is to…

_Mumph umph mffp._

Jackie - I told you that if I was going to give you that cookie, you weren't to talk with your mouth full and… Ugh! That's disgusting. No - don't do it _again_. I _really _don't want to see your chewed up biscuit!

_Mmmph._

No, really. I mean it. Shut your mouth, _right _now.

**beep**


End file.
